Flat and cushion for cellular fillers



April 28. 1931. L. oxHANDLER Y FLAT AND CUSHION FOR CELLULAR FILLERS Filed Feb. 9, 1927 3 Sheets-$heei-l 1 April 28, 1931. 1.-. OXHANDLER FLAT AND CUSHION FOR CELLULAR FILLERS Filed Feb. 9, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 28, 1931.

L. oxHANDLER FLAT AND CUSHION FOR CELLULAR FILLERS Filed Feb. 9, 1927 Sheetsf-Sheet 3 Patented Apr. 28, 1931 `um'ran STATES LnQPoLn ommen, or omesso, iilniitos FLAT Ann CUSHION ron CELLULAR FrLLnns y Application med February 9, weasel-iai No. 166,918.

The present invention relates tothe packaging of fragilearticles, particularlyeggs, in such a way that they may Vhe handled -in the vordinary way and wbershipped. without danger .5 of breakage. The'fprincipal"objectof the present invention is to produce a flat adapted to be employed with a cellular ller to lock the Walls of thev same against displacement, cushion an egg or Vother article lying xin .each

.l0 cell, .andfproviderecesses or depressions to hold liquid discharged vfrom an egg in the event that an egg cracks, `Tand localize such liquid in .thearea formingv the 'bottom of the vcell in which that `:particular egg is located. rlhere are at present .in .use Hats 'provided withcupshaped holders that lockeach egg in a iixed position. Ifa crate of'zeg-gs packed 'between flats of this kindis Ygivenfa 'heavy jar, the shells ofthe eggs must move with the 20 crate, but the liquid contents lof the .egg shells `are not restrained and therefore the'inerti-a thereofltends :to remain stationary whilethe lshells Aare moving, causing a disturbance of `thecontents which .eventuallyxresuflsts in the .25 settling ofthe yolks ofthe eggs itothe bottom and .consequent deteriorationl'ofthe eggs. A furl-ther object -of thepresent invention is :to produce `a simple :and novel ineans of ypackaging -eg-gs so :that Yeachregg wilbe :housed in a 30 securecompartment, beelfectivelycushionei but be permitted to vplay about freely' `within :the compartment solas to avoid the .destruc- .tilve Ainiuences `arising from the locking yof eggs'inlixed relation to thecrate;

.Y 35 Inpaokaging eggs in crates it lis necessary toplacecushions 'in the bottom ofithe crates.

A further object ofthe .present invention is v ito produceva simple, novel .and inexpensive cushion adapted to be placed inthe bottom of Vaniegg crate to protect `the overlying eggs'. A`

further lobject of the present invention is .to

produoea simple and novel latthaft may :be

made .at very little kmore 'expense that ordinary plain Vflats by simply embossing a sheet .of paper after it .hasbeen `formed and while it is still in a wet condition.-

The-various features of' novelty whereby my :invention-is characterized Awill hereinafter-bepointedfout wit-hgpanticularity in the .clainr; but, `for ka full :understanding of my invention and v`of its ,objects andY advantages, reference may be had .to the `following del tailed `description staken in :connection --with the accompanying'drawings, wherein:` y

Figure 1 is a verticalsectioii through one .f l

of my improved cushions l adapted toy be placed in the bottom .of ay `@cra-ter;flig. 2- 'is a lView of the cushion, partly .plan ,andvpantly in horizontal section; Figs. 3 Vand lar-e views similar to F.ig. l, sliowingrtwo modified .6,0 forms of cushions; Fig. 15,.-is a view Vof :the Cushion shown inj-Fig. 4,1partlyn plan ,and partly in section; Figs. i6 ,and Q7 aree-respectively a plan viewof a corner of and :a vertical section :through one `of Aany:improved 5 flats; and Figs. 8 andf9, Figs. 10 and 1l, Figs. 12 and 13, and Figs. Hand alpare views sinupilargtol Figs'.6;and .7, respectively, showing -modi-fiedformsofllats.. f f f Referring :to -Ffigsll and--2 ofthe drawings, 7-0 Y 1 .and 2f1epresent; sheets :of paper zpulp or other suitable'material embossed orshaped in the process of manufacture yof thepsheets to Y provide themf with numerous shallow pan- :shaped depressions. The twosheets, which iare exactly alike, are positioned one abovezthe other with the depressions `vfacing outwardly. vBetweenythe two sheets are placed shoritatubes .4 havinganlint'ernal :dia-meter about equal sto the externaldiameterof lthe .projections on 15.0 the innersides .of the tto'p and nbottom sheets. These Vprojections fit into the ends :ofA the ftubes, form-ing@headstherefon The sheets and thek gtuhes' Yanay be lfastened Vtogether in any v'suitable way to form fa comparatively "i5 rigid, thick hollonT plate. Suitable adhesive fmater'ial rmaybe employed for Vthe purpose; A

`f'lhesecushions are ordinarily made iof `aboutthesaine size-as the flats used in pack` .ingeggs or `otherfarticles, so lthat `in packing i90 eggs in; crates, one of these cushions is -`:first flaid` in 'the bottom-of the crate and the eggs k areithen packed Tinin'theusual way.

f ,If desired, the-:cushions may gbe"'made vof twoksheets only instead of two sheets and nu- 35 lmerous `short tubes. Thus there is shown in Fig. 3 a cushioninade oftwosheets 5 fand,

having'deeppan shaped elements 7 :and 8- therein These sheets are laid upon each other, the pans in .one being `inverted and '19 kreceive the bosses.v When the sheets are laid upon each other they are interlocked against relative lateral movements. Y.

In Figs. 4: and 5 I have shown a cushion ymade of a single sheet 11 provided with panshaped depressions or projections 12, depending on the side from which the sheet is viewed, together with a base 13 consisting of a slab, preferably moulded, made up of a number of short tubular elements placed side by side and joined together into a single structure. :The parts are so proportioned that when the sheet is laid uponV the slab, the pan-shaped elements on the former iit into the upper ends of the tubular elements of the latter. Y

The cushions heretofore described serve to protect the collective mass of eggs or other articles against damage in the event that the crate is dropped heavily. Since the eggs are packed in layers, one .above the other, each layer must be cushioned with respect to the other layers, and each egg must be cushioned withrespect to the other eggs -in the saine layer. In Figures 6-15 of the drawings,A I have illustrated various forms of flats that can be manufactured inv unlimited quantities and at small-cost and which,for all practical purposes, will function perfectly in "cushioning individual eggs and layers of eggs Vwhen employed with the usual or any suitable cellular fillers. j t n f Referring to Figs. 6 and `7, 15 represents a fibrous sheet divided intosections or squares 16 by meansoftwo sets of grooves 17 and 18 arranged at right angles to each other. The lower edges of the elements of a cellular filler are adapted t-oenter these grooves, thereby Ycausing each wall of eachl cell of a filler resting on the sheet or Hat to be interlocked with the latter. The flat yis made by molding pulp vor by embossing a sheet, lending itself admirablyl tothe embossing process because ofthe compositive iatness of the finished product as 'willbe hereinafter explained.

vSince flats must be made from comparatively light material, preferably soft material, the

meregrooving ofthe sheet would notbe suiiicient to insure permanence of shape during 'handling and while in use in a crate. lF urthermore, leakageof the liquid contents of an egg on the liat square or section below the egg would not be localizedinthat square. Again, eggs are packed by dropping them into the cells of the fillers and, where the old plain flats are used, many eggs will be cracked in packing unless care is exercised in lowering theeggsinto the fillers. Therefore, in accordance with my invention, I have so'inodified each square or section that 'the flat Will always retain its initial shape, leakage will be localized, and each egg will have above and below it a cushion separating it from the eggs directly above and below.

In the particular flat under discussion, the desired end is reached by corrugating the central portion of each square or section, as indicated at 19 and surrounding th-e corrugated area by a shallow continuous ledge or rib 20. The corrugations and ribs so stiifen the raised squaresthat the side walls of the grooves 17 and 18 are irmlyanchored and braced and cannot flatten ou't.` When an egg is dropped into a cell it strikes upon the corrugations so that, even though the flat should be in contact with another egg, directly lbelow the one being dropped, the -blow would be cushioned and neither egg would be damaged. ,In the event that an egg shouldbe cracked so as to leak, the liquid would be confined to the receptacle bounded by the continuous rib or ledge.

It will be seen, however, that while provision is made. for effectively interlocking the fillers with the flats and for cushioning each from above and below, as wellias llocalizing any leakage, yet each egg is left fiee to move about in its cell. Thus the eggs may move bodily from side to -side in their cells, avoiding most of the destructiveY stresses that are setv up within an'egg when the shell is locked to the crate. That there can be no disadvantage associated with freedom of movement ofthe eggs to offset the avoidance of destructive'finternal stresses is evidentfrom the fact that the only violentV lateral movenient thaty any egg in a crate wouldmake would be similar to and in the same direction as that made by every other egg upon the jolting of the crate. If the lwalls ofthe cells are held stationary, the shifting eggs cannot strike each otherithrough such walls, i' but these wallsactually serve as cushions that prevent abrupt stopping 4of the eggs; this being particularly trueifVV the cell wallsY are interlocked only with the flat underneath and not'with the overlying fiat.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 8 and 9 there are diagonal ribs 21 pressed upwardly from the squares 16. This construction does not serve to localize leakage, but cushions the eggs, locks the filler, and reenforcesVr the troughs or" grooves. j

. vThe arrangement shown in Figs. 10 and 11 is a variation of that in Figs. 6 and 7. Instead of having a raised continuous rib or'ledge above each plateau-like square, I `corrugate the entire top and depressit slightly, as indicated at 22, so that theupper portions of the sides of the grooves 17 and 1 8`form the outer sides of a continuous rib 23 or ledge surrounding the corrugated area.

The arrangement shown in Figs. 12 and 13 is like that in Figs. 6 and 7 with the corrugations left out and adi-shed center substitut-ed therefor.

In the center of the square orv plateau is a low turret-like part 24, thetop of which is madeslightly concave or dished,`

as indicated at 25. This form of flat functions just as does the other except that it does not so efectively form a`-cushion to prevent an egg from striking a blow against a tall egg directly below it. Y

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 14 and 15 the center of the square is depressed instead of being raised, asindicated at 26, and

in this depressed part are aV plurality of radial ribs 27 pressed up from the flat bottom p Yuniform thickness throughout, portions ofA the sheet being pressed upwardly to formelevated plateaus, the central portion of each plateau being pressed upwardly to form a secondary elevation, and the central portion of each secondary elevation being 'depressed to form a bottom surrounded by a continuous ledge whose cross-section is an inverted U, and each said bottom having corrugations whose ends terminate at said ledge to stifen and reinforce the latter. p

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification.

LEOPOLD OXHANDLER.; s 

